(By Larry Hodges, Member of US Table Tennis Hall of Fame
The operative word here is “try.” Table tennis is a full-court sport, and if you want to reach a high level you should learn to play from off the table when necessary. But some players always jam the table and do quite well, and others back up regularly and also do quite well.
In general, unless you’re a chopper, you should try to stay within an arm’s length of the table. Here’s why. If you back up:
- Opponent has more time to react to your shot and play his best shot.
- Opponent has more angle against you.
- You have less angle you can play against your opponent.
- You have more ground to cover.
Other players play too close to the table. If you play too close:
- You’ll get jammed on deep balls.
- You won’t be able to react as well to strong shots.
- You won’t have time to get your best shots into play.
This doesn’t mean you always play at arm’s length. Back up when necessary – learn to play from anywhere when needed, especially (at higher levels) in fast counterlooping rallies. Some styles, of course, naturally back up, and should do so when appropriate. Other styles stay right up at the table nearly all the time.
At the higher levels, players also try to stay within arm’s length, but the pace gets so fast that in order to counterloop, they have to back up. But even then their first choice, if they have time, is to counterloop without backing up too much.
Players often back up unnecessarily after going wide for a shot, especially to the wide forehand. When this happens, try to return to the table sideways so you’re still at the table, preferably within arm’s length. Back up only if you really need the extra time to get back into position and react to the incoming shot. So . . . make arm’s length a strength!
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